2003 smart fortwo - city coupe Pure from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Unusually noisy engine at 6000 miles, dealer replaced the drive chain under warranty. On the day I was taking it to be repaired I started the car to find several warning lights on and failed hill start assist: I had to be towed to the dealer.

General Comments:

The suspension is too hard and feels like I'm driving over mountains whilst on a bumpy road.

The seats are quite comfortable and there is plenty of room.

I have had service fron two different smart dealers and I have found the service to be terrible. This really lets the car down.

I would never buy a car from this manufacturer again simply because of the appauling customer service.

The second year service cost £263, this was just for the basic service. I was given information about what had been checked on the car, this included details of parts replaced that aren't even fitted to the car in the first place, i.e the soft top had been checked (this model doesn't have a soft top)

This car gets a lot of attention, I have left it outside of a bank to go to the cash machine, turned around and there was several people standing around looking at it. The attention can be a good thing but it can be bad, i have found chewing gum stuck on it a couple of times.

Summary:

Great idea - reliability absolutely shocking

Faults:

Engine failure at 6500 miles with loss of compression in cylinder 2.

Clutch slippage at 6000 miles.

Several little niggles with fit and finish - the drivers window goes up too high and distorts the door seal causing a leak, speakers not tightened properly in the mounts so rattle with speech, rear plastic window very difficult to keep clean and scratches very very easily.

General Comments:

My second smart and it has been as unreliable as the first. Disappointed as the cars are genuinely innovative and fun to drive.

30th Nov 2003, 15:16

I'm quite surprised as my ex-wife and I have had 3 smarts and have totalized over 130.000 km in almost 4 years without any major trouble. I can't say it was bad luck if this is your second smart, it must be VERY bad luck, then...

25th May 2006, 05:32

I see that all your smarts did approx. 50,000 km. There is a widespread conception in car mechanics circles here in Greece that the smart's engine is only good for 50,000 km, then needs to be reconditioned, which I find hard to believe. What is your experience on this? Did you experience any loss of power at this mileage?

13th Jun 2008, 03:38

I'm sorry to say that similar happened to my parent's Smart Passion, although they managed to achieve 16,000 miles over 3 years before the engine gave up the ghost. Apparently it was because they were late with their service, although it is a known fault amongst Mercedes mechanics; just be sure to adhere to the 12 months or 8,000 mls, whichever is the soonest, and hope it goes before the warranty runs out.